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Sunday's best & worst
Best team performance: Fairfield (won at Saint Peter's 61-48)
I started to buy into the notion of the Stags as a team to be reckoned with when they took a good Hofstra team down to the wire, but it was hard to be sure they were for real without an impressive conference win. I never thought winning in Jersey City would be considered a statement win, but for a team that's gone through what Fairfield has, Sunday's victory was exactly that, especially after Saint Peter's beat Iona in its MAAC opener.
I was high on the Peacocks before the season began and still think they can be an upper-half team. For the Stags to win going away despite going 10-for-22 at the line speaks volumes about how quickly they're growing up.
Honorable mention: Niagara (beat Loyola 77-57)
The Eagles sure look better with Tyrone Lewis in the lineup. Lewis had 21 points Sunday, and when he's on the court, good things tend to happen at both ends of the floor. That's a good thing, since he played 38 minutes against the Hounds.
Best individual performance: Derek Needham, Fairfield (20 points, 4 assists in win over SPC)
Despite starting the game on a 10-0 run and dominating the first 10 minutes, the Stags may have lost if not for Needham's performance in the second half, when he scored 19 of his 20 points and hit five 3s.
Needham played what he and Ed Cooley described as a poor game against Marist, but still ended up with 12 points and six assists. Then Sunday, he played what might have been his worst half of the year, but managed to come back right away with his best. If awards were given out in December, Needham would be the unanimous choice for MAAC Rookie of the Year and probably be at least a second-team all-conference pick.
Honorable mention: Daye Kaba, Marist (13 points, 9 rebounds in loss to Rider)
The main storyline of this game, which we'll get to in a minute, is Rider's baffling inability to score against zone defenses. But the game still wouldn't have been close in the final minutes if the Red Foxes hadn't hit some big shots down the stretch.
Some of those biggest shots came from Kaba, who scored nine points in the second half, when the Red Foxes hung around by shooting 50 percent from the floor.
It'll be interesting to see, come spring semester, how Marist looks with Kaba, Dejuan Goodwin and R.J. Hall on the perimeter and Villanova transfer Casiem Drummond in the low post.
Worst team performance: Rider (beat Marist 55-51)
Yes, it's a league win and yes, the Broncs have showed in the past that they can follow up atrocious performances with very good ones. But Rider has been lost all season against zone defenses, and its performance Sunday bordered on pathetic.
Pick any measure by which to judge offensive efficiency, and the Broncs failed Sunday. They shot 23 percent from 3 (6-for-26), but as Tommy Dempsey pointed out after the game, it wasn't JUST that they missed 3s. They also missed everything from mid-range jumpers to layups to free throws.
Luckily for the Broncs, their opponent was a team that lost 75-38 to Hartford.
Dishonorable mention: Loyola (lost at Niagara, 77-57).
The Hounds entered conference play on a high note, having played arguably their best game of the year in a win over crosstown rival Morgan State. That they weren't so much as competitive in either of their two Buffalo games doesn't speak well about their prospects for staying out of the play-in round.
Worst individual performance: Ryan Thompson (one point in 39 minutes against Marist)
A free throw with 12.5 seconds left was all that kept the preseason Player of the Year from being held scoreless for the first time since the second game of his career.
Dishonorable mention: Frank Turner and Julius Coles, Canisius (combined 28 points, eight turnovers in 71-57 loss to Manhattan)
One player with four turnovers won't kill you. When your two best players BOTH have that on their stat line, and when there isn't nearly enough offense to make up for it, bad things will happen.
***
Rider could have used an extra zone-buster Sunday, but was without Pat Mansell, who Dempsey suspended for two games for violating team rules.
***
Siena, fresh off a thrashing of cross-town rival Albany, opens MAAC play against Iona. I expect you'll see another statement from the Saints, who are unquestionably the team to beat in the league despite a less-than-inspiring start to the season.
***
Anybody up for some high school swimming talk?
How about high school hockey?
I started to buy into the notion of the Stags as a team to be reckoned with when they took a good Hofstra team down to the wire, but it was hard to be sure they were for real without an impressive conference win. I never thought winning in Jersey City would be considered a statement win, but for a team that's gone through what Fairfield has, Sunday's victory was exactly that, especially after Saint Peter's beat Iona in its MAAC opener.
I was high on the Peacocks before the season began and still think they can be an upper-half team. For the Stags to win going away despite going 10-for-22 at the line speaks volumes about how quickly they're growing up.
Honorable mention: Niagara (beat Loyola 77-57)
The Eagles sure look better with Tyrone Lewis in the lineup. Lewis had 21 points Sunday, and when he's on the court, good things tend to happen at both ends of the floor. That's a good thing, since he played 38 minutes against the Hounds.
Best individual performance: Derek Needham, Fairfield (20 points, 4 assists in win over SPC)
Despite starting the game on a 10-0 run and dominating the first 10 minutes, the Stags may have lost if not for Needham's performance in the second half, when he scored 19 of his 20 points and hit five 3s.
Needham played what he and Ed Cooley described as a poor game against Marist, but still ended up with 12 points and six assists. Then Sunday, he played what might have been his worst half of the year, but managed to come back right away with his best. If awards were given out in December, Needham would be the unanimous choice for MAAC Rookie of the Year and probably be at least a second-team all-conference pick.
Honorable mention: Daye Kaba, Marist (13 points, 9 rebounds in loss to Rider)
The main storyline of this game, which we'll get to in a minute, is Rider's baffling inability to score against zone defenses. But the game still wouldn't have been close in the final minutes if the Red Foxes hadn't hit some big shots down the stretch.
Some of those biggest shots came from Kaba, who scored nine points in the second half, when the Red Foxes hung around by shooting 50 percent from the floor.
It'll be interesting to see, come spring semester, how Marist looks with Kaba, Dejuan Goodwin and R.J. Hall on the perimeter and Villanova transfer Casiem Drummond in the low post.
Worst team performance: Rider (beat Marist 55-51)
Yes, it's a league win and yes, the Broncs have showed in the past that they can follow up atrocious performances with very good ones. But Rider has been lost all season against zone defenses, and its performance Sunday bordered on pathetic.
Pick any measure by which to judge offensive efficiency, and the Broncs failed Sunday. They shot 23 percent from 3 (6-for-26), but as Tommy Dempsey pointed out after the game, it wasn't JUST that they missed 3s. They also missed everything from mid-range jumpers to layups to free throws.
Luckily for the Broncs, their opponent was a team that lost 75-38 to Hartford.
Dishonorable mention: Loyola (lost at Niagara, 77-57).
The Hounds entered conference play on a high note, having played arguably their best game of the year in a win over crosstown rival Morgan State. That they weren't so much as competitive in either of their two Buffalo games doesn't speak well about their prospects for staying out of the play-in round.
Worst individual performance: Ryan Thompson (one point in 39 minutes against Marist)
A free throw with 12.5 seconds left was all that kept the preseason Player of the Year from being held scoreless for the first time since the second game of his career.
Dishonorable mention: Frank Turner and Julius Coles, Canisius (combined 28 points, eight turnovers in 71-57 loss to Manhattan)
One player with four turnovers won't kill you. When your two best players BOTH have that on their stat line, and when there isn't nearly enough offense to make up for it, bad things will happen.
***
Rider could have used an extra zone-buster Sunday, but was without Pat Mansell, who Dempsey suspended for two games for violating team rules.
***
Siena, fresh off a thrashing of cross-town rival Albany, opens MAAC play against Iona. I expect you'll see another statement from the Saints, who are unquestionably the team to beat in the league despite a less-than-inspiring start to the season.
***
Anybody up for some high school swimming talk?
How about high school hockey?
posted by Kyle Franko at
2:41 AM
7 Comments:
A win's a win, Doods. That's all that matters. RT with 1 point and Rider still wins. That's actually what you want to see - other guys step up and get it done. You conveniently forgot to mention that Marist almost beat FF on the road.
I don't think anyone in the Rider program agrees that all wins are equal. Dempsey, rightfully so, was very unhappy with Rider's performance and concerned about its inability to score against the zone.
Only a shill would dress what happened yesterday up as a success.
As for Marist-Fairfield: 1) I don't think Fairfield played well in that game; 2) In spite of that, Marist didn't have a shot in the final seconds that could have tied it, and 3) Rider is supposed to be a contender for the league title, while Fairfield is supposed to be a middle-of-the-pack team trying to move its way up. Rider has earned the right over the past two years to have much higher expectations.
Doods, what happened yesterday was a Rider W. Bring on LaSalle. You are building a negative story for no purpose. Good teams win when playing terrible. This is mid-major hoops. Rider is 6-3 with wins over Miss State and St. Joe's.
Also Rider was without Mansell and Jackson yesterday which was never mentioned.
As for FF, they will finish in the same spot they always finish, never a threat to win the league.
Can we please stop with the St. Joe's win talk. They were picked 10th in the Atlantic 10 and just lost to Cornell to make it 4 in a row. LaSalle is the trues A-10 test this year.
Raver,
Face it: You don't want me to be an objective reporter. You want me to shill for Rider.
That isn't my job.
Also, nowhere did I say that Rider's program is in a state of disarray, or that they're having an awful year.
I simply wrote what was clear to everyone who watched that game -- that Rider played very poorly and needs to figure out how to attack zones. That they were without two players who are averaging a combined 5.2 points does nothing to change that.
If that's what Rider's own coaching staff thinks, why should I try to spin it into a positive?
I also get a kick out of the way you adjust your expectations to fit your argument.
If Rider is an elite team that should be expected to win the MAAC, why is beating the team picked 10th in the Atlantic 10 a noteworthy accomplishment?
On the other hand, if beating winless Marist at home by four points is a positive, how in the world is this team better than Siena and Niagara?
You're trying to have it both ways so that every single thing written about Rider is gushing with positivity.
If you're a true fan, you should embrace the high expectations and welcome the criticism that comes with them.
Doods, let's see how Siennnna does against St. Joe's. There are 14 teams in the A10 so 10th is roughly mid-tier. Rider should beat any mid-pack A10 team as they did. And St. Joe's will finish higher than 10th because the A10 sucks this year.
You say I'm a shrill but I've criticized Dempsey heavily for years as they underperformed - perhaps you didn't know this.
The bottom line is you give me these inane points which has nothing to do with objectivity.
Rider could win 3-2 doesn't matter, in fact, if you are paying attention you'd realize and actually report that Rider has held its opponents to 58ppg over the past 3 games. Wasn't one of their goals to improve defensively coming back from Cancun?
My central argument is that they can win games one of several ways. They can win 45-40 or they can win 85-82, doesn't matter, a win is a win. They are deep and versatile. Bring on LaSalle.
And while we're on this subject is this a bad time to bring up the ridiculousness of your story - what is Rider going to do when the 3s stop falling? Remember when I drilled you on that one? Rider still wins.
Being objective and being analytically smart are two different things. As a reporter that's what you need to work on. Rider is going to lose games in the MAAC and they will play poorly. It's mid-major hoops.
BRING IT.
This guy is out of control.
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